This invention relates in general to a small watercraft and in particular to a small watercraft seat.
The seat of a personal watercraft includes a foam cushion that is supported by a rigid seat plate and is covered by a vinyl leather seat skin. This seat is generally satisfactory for most watercraft use; however, it is not satisfactory for rough water operation and wave jumping. During rough water watercraft operation and wave jumping, significant shocks are transmitted to the personal watercraft seat. This seat is uncomfortable during these activities because the seat does not have a construction that sufficiently dampens the large shocks transmitted to the seat.
A vehicle seat has been contemplated for a watercraft that effectively absorbs large shocks and vibrations transmitted to the seat. This seat includes a cushion arrangement that is supported by a seat base and covered by a seat skin. The cushion arrangement includes a cushion and a viscoelastic member. The viscoelastic member is preferably located along the undersurface of the cushion, between the cushion and the seat base. The viscoelastic member is constructed of a super-soft urethane elastomer that includes resinous microballoons. The viscoelastic member exhibits much of the shock-dampening qualities exhibited by the seat.
If this vehicle seat was incorporated into a personal watercraft, the viscoelastic member in the seat would suffer from heat damage and water damage, inhibiting the shock-dampening qualities exhibited by the viscoelastic member. In a personal watercraft, the bottom of the watercraft seat is located in close proximity to the heat-emitting engine and exhaust system. If the vehicle seat described above was incorporated into a personal watercraft, the viscoelastic member would be located in close proximity to these heat-emitting components. This vehicle seat is not designed to protect the viscoelastic member from the heat emitted by these personal watercraft components. Consequently, the viscoelastic member would become damaged by the heat from these components, inhibiting the shock-dampening characteristics of the viscoelastic member.
If this vehicle seat was incorporated into a personal watercraft, the viscoelastic member would also suffer from water damage because this seat is not designed to prevent water from seeping under the bottom of the seat. The viscoelastic member in this seat is either bonded to the undersurface of the seat or provided within a recess on the undersurface of the seat. If the vehicle seat described above was incorporated into a personal watercraft, water would seep under the seat, and into the cushion arrangement. Water between the cushion and viscoelastic member would inhibit the shock-absorbing characteristics of the viscoelastic member and would cause the viscoelastic member to become dislodged from its position relative to the cushion, inhibiting the comfort of the seat.
A watercraft seat was proposed in the past that inhibited water from entering the cushion through the bottom of the seat. This seat had a seat base with a plurality of air openings through which air could be expelled from the cushion upon compression of the cushion and returned upon expansion of the cushion. In one embodiment of the seat, a bag was hermetically sealed with these openings so that air could flow into and out of the seat while preventing the ingress of water into the cushion. In another embodiment, a gasket was provided near the periphery of the seat base, around the openings in the seat base. This gasket inhibited water from seeping between the bottom of the seat base and a raised pedestal of the hull. However, this seat suffered from the same drawbacks as the watercraft seat first mentioned above. The seat did not sufficiently absorb shocks transmitted to the seat during rough water operation and wave jumping.
It will be shown in the ensuing description of the present invention how the present invention solves these problems.